Management of enterprise systems and applications using three-dimensional visualization technology

ABSTRACT

An approach that manages enterprise systems and applications using three-dimensional visualization technology is described. In one embodiment, a system for streaming visual representations of an enterprise in near-real time. A multitude of geographically distributed enterprise datacenters are each configured to obtain event data from hardware and software elements in the enterprise. A virtual command center is configured to receive the event data, aggregate the event data into a composite dataset representative of the current operation of the enterprise, compare the composite dataset to at least one three-dimensional model representative of the operation of the geographically distributed enterprise, and provide a visualization of the composite data and any difference that may exist. The visualization is a composite of a three-dimensional visual image of the current operation of the geographically distributed enterprise.

BACKGROUND

This disclosure relates generally to enterprise systems and applicationsand more specifically to using three-dimensional (3D) visualizationtechnology to provide an enterprise manager with streaming visualrepresentations of aspects of an enterprise in near real-time.

Currently, an enterprise manager uses a large collection of disparatetwo-dimensional (2D) software tools such as web pages and client-serverapplications depending on the middleware that has been deployed. These2D software tools generally limit the amount of information available toenterprise managers and other personnel that will use the tools. Inaddition, the disparate use of 2D software tools requires the users tolearn many tools in order to manage the enterprise. As a result, it isvery difficult for enterprise managers and other personnel that usethese 2D software tools to quickly assimilate data and interact with theenterprise. Better software tools that can quickly assimilate data andenable users of the tool to effectively interact with the enterprise aretherefore desirable.

SUMMARY

In one embodiment, there is a method for streaming visualrepresentations from a plurality of geographically distributedenterprise datacenters in near-real time. In this embodiment, the methodcomprises: receiving event data from the plurality of geographicallydistributed enterprise datacenters, wherein the event data isrepresentative of hardware and software elements that each datacenter ismanaging; transforming the event data from each of the plurality ofgeographically distributed enterprise datacenters into a visualrepresentation of the hardware and software elements that eachdatacenter is managing; and placing each visual representation into athree-dimensional space that provides a single operational visualizationof the geographically distributed enterprise.

In a second embodiment, there is a method for streaming visualrepresentations from a plurality of geographically distributedenterprise datacenters in near-real time. In this embodiment, the methodcomprises: receiving event data from the plurality of geographicallydistributed enterprise datacenters; aggregating the event data into acomposite dataset representative of the current operation of thegeographically distributed enterprise; comparing the composite datasetto at least one three-dimensional model representative of the operationof the geographically distributed enterprise; ascertaining differencesbetween the composite dataset and the at least one three-dimensionalmodel, wherein the differences are indicative of potentially troublingoperation; and providing a visualization of both the composite data andany difference that may exist, wherein the visualization comprises athree-dimensional composite visual image of the current operation of thegeographically distributed enterprise.

In a third embodiment, there is a system for streaming visualrepresentations of an enterprise in near-real time. In this embodiment,the system comprises a plurality of geographically distributedenterprise datacenters each configured to obtain event data fromhardware and software elements in the enterprise. A virtual commandcenter is configured to receive the event data, aggregate the event datainto a composite dataset representative of the current operation of theenterprise, compare the composite dataset to at least onethree-dimensional model representative of the operation of thegeographically distributed enterprise, and provide a visualization ofthe composite data and any difference that may exist. The visualizationcomprises a composite a three-dimensional visual image of the currentoperation of the geographically distributed enterprise.

In a fourth embodiment, there is a computer-readable medium storingcomputer instructions, which when executed, enables a computer system tostream visual representations from a plurality of geographicallydistributed enterprise datacenters in near-real time. In thisembodiment, the computer instructions comprises receiving event datafrom the plurality of geographically distributed enterprise datacenters;aggregating the event data into a composite dataset representative ofthe current operation of the geographically distributed enterprise;comparing the composite dataset to at least one three-dimensional modelrepresentative of the operation of the geographically distributedenterprise; ascertaining differences between the composite dataset andthe at least one three-dimensional model, wherein the differences areindicative of potentially troubling operation; and providing avisualization of both the composite data and any difference that mayexist, wherein the visualization comprises a three-dimensional compositevisual image of the current operation of the geographically distributedenterprise.

In a fifth embodiment, there is an enterprise visualization tool for usein a computer system that streams visual representations of anenterprise in near-real time. In this embodiment, a computerinfrastructure is provided and is operable to receive event data fromthe plurality of geographically distributed enterprise datacenters;aggregate the event data into a composite dataset representative of thecurrent operation of the geographically distributed enterprise; comparethe composite dataset to at least one three-dimensional modelrepresentative of the operation of the geographically distributedenterprise; ascertain differences between the composite dataset and theat least one three-dimensional model, wherein the differences areindicative of potentially troubling operation; and provide avisualization of both the composite data and any difference that mayexist, wherein the visualization comprises a three-dimensional compositevisual image of the current operation of the geographically distributedenterprise.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a high-level schematic diagram showing an architecturaloverview of a system for streaming visual representations of anenterprise in near-real time according to one embodiment of thisdisclosure;

FIG. 2 shows a more detailed view of a holographic enterprise interfaceshown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a flow chart describing the operation of the system shownin FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 provides a visualization of a virtual command center that showscomponents of a enterprise generated from the system shown in FIG. 1;and

FIG. 5 shows a schematic of a computing environment in which elements ofthe system shown in FIG. 1 may operate.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of this disclosure are directed to a technique for streamingthree-dimensional (3D) visual representations in near real-time ofhardware and software elements in an enterprise. The visualrepresentations of the hardware elements includes items such as servers,racks, networking equipment, and power and cooling, whereas softwareelements are visualized in terms of the structure of the underlyingsoftware or in logical terms of their business function. These elementsare structurally organized into a 3D space known as a virtual commandcenter. This virtual command center provides platform(s) for equipment,observation decks and catwalks, display screens, and variousinfrastructures such as the in-world communications gear.

FIG. 1 shows a high-level schematic diagram showing an architecturaloverview of a system 10 for streaming visual representations of anenterprise in near-real time according to one embodiment of thisdisclosure. As shown in FIG. 1, the system comprises a plurality ofgeographically distributed enterprises datacenters 12. Each datacenteris responsible for managing hardware and software elements within aportion of the enterprise. The hardware and software elements arerepresented in FIG. 1 as hardware and middleware 14. Within each of thedatacenters is system management software 16 that manages the hardwareand software elements. In one embodiment, the system management software16 includes a plurality of commercially available back-end enterprisesystems that are used to manage hardware and software elements within anenterprise.

A holographic enterprise interface 18 is deployed at datacenter 12. Inone embodiment, the holographic enterprise interface 18 is a pluginbased component, where the plugins connect to the system managementsoftware or more specifically, to each of the back-end enterprisesystems. In operation, the holographic enterprise interface transformsinformation from the application programming interfaces of the back-endenterprise systems into event data which is subsequently dispatched tothe manager of the holographic enterprise interface 18. In oneembodiment, the plugins are subclassed from a plugin base class whichcontains interfaces for managing the plugin instances.

The plugin manager within the holographic enterprise interface 18 routesthe plugin generated events to the underlying communications systemswithin the holographic enterprise interface. The plugin manager alsoparses an XML configuration file that is the plugin descriptor definingwhat plugins to load. The communications system within the holographicenterprise interface 18 contains components for encoding event data fromthe plugins into a Holographic Protocol Architecture. The HolographicProtocol Architecture (HPA) is a protocol specification that definespacket types and conversation patterns necessary to interact with avirtual command center 24 via a communications network 20 and gateway22. The HPA comprises a packet header detailing the packet type (4bytes), sequence number (2 bytes), total packets (2 bytes), and alocation id (2 bytes).

After the packet header is a tuple based data payload of varying length,based on constraints that may be introduced by the underlying transport.The communications system within the holographic enterprise interface 18includes a protocol handler that encodes the data from an event systeminto the HPA. It also decodes the protocol and dispatches events toplugins when receiving communications from the virtual command center24. In addition, there is a packet driver that uses a pluggable ciphercomponent to encrypt the packet. It then interfaces with a pluggabletransport provider, such as XML-RPC, to dispatch the communications tothe virtual command center 24.

The following configuration enables the virtual command center 24 tooperate in synchronous or asynchronous mode with the holographicinterface element 18 depending on the underlying transport. Insynchronous mode, queuing mechanisms are used to batch transmissionsinbound to the holographic interface element 18 from the virtual commandcenter 24. In the event of a stateless synchronous transport, the queueddata is encoded into the response to the XML-RPC call, and processed bythe communications system within the holographic interface element 18.

FIG. 2 shows a more detailed view of a holographic enterprise interface18 shown in FIG. 1. In particular, FIG. 2 shows the software componentswithin the holographic enterprise interface 18 that perform theabove-noted functions. A more detailed description is provided incommonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______, entitledHOLOGRAPHIC ENTERPRISE NETWORK (Attorney Docket No. END920070184US1;IBME-0426), which is filed concurrently with this patent application.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the virtual command center 24 which in oneembodiment is a 3D simulator grid that structurally organizes elementsof the enterprise into a 3D space. Although FIG. 1 shows the 3Dsimulator grid 24 separate from the datacenters 12, the simulator gridmay exist at one of the datacenters or at another third party locationsuch as a hosting provider.

The 3D simulator has the characteristics of managing a 3D vector spacein which objects are placed. These objects are based on elementarygeometric shapes and conic sections. They can be manipulated by applyingtransforms. They can be linked together to form composite objects.Objects can have scripts that are attached to them and govern theirbehavior. Objects can listen on 65535 channels for messages coming fromthe simulator environment. Objects can manage their own state.

In addition, the 3D simulator manages the state, script execution,in-world communications, and off-world communications to multiple 3Dclients. In one embodiment, multiple simulators can be run on a grid ina parallel processing configuration. In this embodiment, gridinfrastructure services manage the quality of service, provisioning, anddeployment of simulator instances.

Referring back to FIG. 1 for more details of the virtual command center24 (i.e., the 3D simulator), there is a channel bank 26 that receivesthe event data generated from each of the datacenters 12 via thecommunications network 20 and gateway 22. The communications gateway 22routes data to simulator instances that contain the object possessingthe UUID of the recipient identified in the message header. Each channelbank 26 is assigned a channel to a datacenter 12 based on the UUID ofthe channel bank. As a result, each channel bank 26 receives data fromthe gateway 22 based on its UUID.

An aggregator 28 receives the event data from the channel bank 26. Theaggregator 28 aggregates the event data into a composite datasetrepresentative of current operation of the hardware and softwareelements that are managed by each datacenter 12.

A communications hub 30 receives the composite data from the aggregatorand decrypts and decodes the packets represented by the composite data.In addition, the communications hub 30 receives communications fromother sources such as an in-world virtual network 34, 3D equipmentmodels 32 that mimic real world equipment and software, or othersources. These communications are dispatched to an outbound queue forimmediate transmission to the holographic enterprise interface 18 ordispatched on the response string of a stateless synchronous transport.In one embodiment,

In one embodiment, the equipment models 30 are placed within proximityto a repeater. In this embodiment, the equipment models listen onassigned frequencies for messages of interest. The applicability of aparticular message to a model such as a server can be based on its name,IP address, or another token. As a result, the models can be built fromthe event data received from the datacenter. Instead of learning themodels, it is possible to import the 3D models from other sources. Inany event, the models are used to compare to the composite event datareceived by the communications hub 30. Any differences determined by thehub 30 are indicative of potentially troubling operation of thedatacenter 12, hardware and middleware 14, system management software16, or holographic enterprise interface 18. In one embodiment, equipmentmodels and software visualizations can dispatch messages to repeaters byspeaking on the appropriate channel. Ultimately these messages are sentto the communications hub for processing, and are handled in-world orsent to a holographic enterprise interface 18

The communications hub 30 is then configured to generate a visualizationof both the composite data received from the datacenters 12 and anydifferences that may exist with the 3D models 32. The visualizationcomprises a 3D composite visual image(s) of the current operation of theenterprise. This visual representation is transmitted to users assignedto manage the enterprise via a communications network 34 and computingunits 36. A rendering client operating on the computing units 36 thenrenders the visualization generated by the visual command center 24. Inparticular, this rendering client connects to a simulator instance andtransmits a protocol which allows the client to render the state of thevirtual command center 24 (3D simulator). The protocol includesinformation such as position and size of objects, textures, images, andanimations, and other details necessary to render the 3D world. Thoseskilled in the art will recognize that different simulators usedifferent protocols and that the virtual command center 24 of thisdisclosure is not dependent on any specific protocol type orimplementation.

FIG. 3 shows a flow chart 58 describing the operation of the systemshown in FIG. 1 according to one embodiment. In FIG. 3, the processbegins at 60 where event data is received from the plurality ofgeographically distributed enterprise datacenters 12. The event data isaggregated into a composite dataset representative of the currentoperation of the geographically distributed enterprise at 62. Thecomposite dataset is compared at 64 to at least one three-dimensionalmodel representative of the operation of the geographically distributedenterprise. Differences between the composite dataset and the at leastone three-dimensional model are ascertained at 66. The differences areindicative of potentially troubling operation that may be occurring atone of the hardware and middleware 14, system management software 16 orholographic enterprise interface 18. A visualization of the compositedata and any difference that may exist is provided or generated at 68.The visualization comprises a three-dimensional composite visual imageof the current operation of the geographically distributed enterprise.This visual image can be rendered by the user and provide a simple andintegrated overall understanding of the enterprise in real-time.

The foregoing flow chart shows some of the processing functionsassociated with the virtual command center 24. In this regard, eachblock represents a process act associated with performing thesefunctions. It should also be noted that in some alternativeimplementations, the acts noted in the blocks may occur out of the ordernoted in the figure or, for example, may in fact be executedsubstantially concurrently or in the reverse order, depending upon theact involved. Also, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize thatadditional blocks that describe the processing functions may be added.

FIG. 4 provides a visualization 70 of a virtual command center thatshows components of an enterprise generated from the system 10 shown inFIG. 1. In particular, the visualization shows key components of theenterprise. As shown in FIG. 4, screens, displays, and data towers arepositioned in strategic locations around the command center forproviding an overall understanding of the enterprise. The screens,displays, and data towers consume data from the virtual network anddetermine what types of information to display to the enterprise managerand other personnel responsible for managing the enterprise.

In another embodiment of this disclosure, the virtual command center 24could be used as a service to charge fees for streaming visualrepresentations from a plurality of geographically distributedenterprise datacenters in near-real time. In this embodiment, theprovider of the virtual command center 24 or even the system 10 couldoffer these systems as a service by performing the functionalitiesdescribed herein on a subscription and/or fee basis. In this case, theprovider can create, deploy, maintain, support, etc., the virtualcommand center 24 or the system 10 that performs the processes describedin the disclosure.

In still another embodiment, the methodologies disclosed herein can beused within a computer system to stream visual representations from aplurality of geographically distributed enterprise datacenters innear-real time. In this case, the system 10 including the virtualcommand center 24 can be provided and one or more systems for performingthe processes described in the disclosure can be obtained and deployedto a computer infrastructure. To this extent, the deployment cancomprise one or more of (1) installing program code on a computingdevice, such as a computer system, from a computer-readable medium; (2)adding one or more computing devices to the infrastructure; and (3)incorporating and/or modifying one or more existing systems of theinfrastructure to enable the infrastructure to perform the processactions of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 shows a schematic of a computing environment 100 in whichelements of the system shown in FIG. 1 may operate. The exemplarycomputing environment 100 is only one example of a suitable computingenvironment and is not intended to suggest any limitation as to thescope of use or functionality of the approach described herein. Neithershould the computing environment 100 be interpreted as having anydependency or requirement relating to any one or combination ofcomponents illustrated in FIG. 5.

In the computing environment 100 there is a computer 102 which isoperational with numerous other general purpose or special purposecomputing system environments or configurations. Examples of well knowncomputing systems, environments, and/or configurations that may besuitable for use with an exemplary computer 102 include, but are notlimited to, personal computers, server computers, thin clients, thickclients, hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessor systems,microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes, programmable consumerelectronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers,distributed computing environments that include any of the above systemsor devices, and the like.

The exemplary computer 102 may be described in the general context ofcomputer-executable instructions, such as program modules, beingexecuted by a computer. Generally, program modules include routines,programs, objects, components, logic, data structures, and so on, thatperforms particular tasks or implements particular abstract data types.The exemplary computer 102 may be practiced in distributed computingenvironments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices thatare linked through a communications network. In a distributed computingenvironment, program modules may be located in both local and remotecomputer storage media including memory storage devices.

As shown in FIG. 5, the computer 102 in the computing environment 100 isshown in the form of a general-purpose computing device. The componentsof computer 102 may include, but are not limited to, one or moreprocessors or processing units 104, a system memory 106, and a bus 108that couples various system components including the system memory 106to the processor 104.

Bus 108 represents one or more of any of several types of busstructures, including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheralbus, an accelerated graphics port, and a processor or local bus usingany of a variety of bus architectures. By way of example, and notlimitation, such architectures include Industry Standard Architecture(ISA) bus, Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, Enhanced ISA (EISA)bus, Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) local bus, andPeripheral Component Interconnects (PCI) bus.

The computer 102 typically includes a variety of computer readablemedia. Such media may be any available media that is accessible bycomputer 102, and it includes both volatile and non-volatile media,removable and non-removable media.

In FIG. 5, the system memory 106 includes computer readable media in theform of volatile memory, such as random access memory (RAM) 110, and/ornon-volatile memory, such as ROM 112. A BIOS 114 containing the basicroutines that help to transfer information between elements withincomputer 102, such as during start-up, is stored in ROM 112. RAM 110typically contains data and/or program modules that are immediatelyaccessible to and/or presently operated on by processor 104.

Computer 102 may further include other removable/non-removable,volatile/non-volatile computer storage media. By way of example only,FIG. 5 illustrates a hard disk drive 116 for reading from and writing toa non-removable, non-volatile magnetic media (not shown and typicallycalled a “hard drive”), a magnetic disk drive 118 for reading from andwriting to a removable, non-volatile magnetic disk 120 (e.g., a “floppydisk”), and an optical disk drive 122 for reading from or writing to aremovable, non-volatile optical disk 124 such as a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM orother optical media. The hard disk drive 116, magnetic disk drive 118,and optical disk drive 122 are each connected to bus 108 by one or moredata media interfaces 126.

The drives and their associated computer-readable media providenonvolatile storage of computer readable instructions, data structures,program modules, and other data for computer 102. Although the exemplaryenvironment described herein employs a hard disk 116, a removablemagnetic disk 118 and a removable optical disk 122, it should beappreciated by those skilled in the art that other types of computerreadable media which can store data that is accessible by a computer,such as magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, digital video disks,RAMs, ROM, and the like, may also be used in the exemplary operatingenvironment.

A number of program modules may be stored on the hard disk 116, magneticdisk 120, optical disk 122, ROM 112, or RAM 110, including, by way ofexample, and not limitation, an operating system 128, one or moreapplication programs 130, other program modules 132, and program data134. Each of the operating system 128, one or more application programs130, other program modules 132, and program data 134 or some combinationthereof, may include an implementation of the system 10 shown in FIG. 1for streaming visual representations of an enterprise in near-real time.

A user may enter commands and information into computer 102 throughoptional input devices such as a keyboard 136 and a pointing device 138(such as a “mouse”). Other input devices (not shown) may include amicrophone, joystick, game pad, satellite dish, serial port, scanner,camera, or the like. These and other input devices are connected to theprocessor unit 104 through a user input interface 140 that is coupled tobus 108, but may be connected by other interface and bus structures,such as a parallel port, game port, or a universal serial bus (USB).

An optional monitor 142 or other type of display device is alsoconnected to bus 108 via an interface, such as a video adapter 144. Inaddition to the monitor, personal computers typically include otherperipheral output devices (not shown), such as speakers and printers,which may be connected through output peripheral interface 146.

Computer 102 may operate in a networked environment using logicalconnections to one or more remote computers, such as a remoteserver/computer 148. Remote computer 148 may include many or all of theelements and features described herein relative to computer 102.

Logical connections shown in FIG. 5 are a local area network (LAN) 150and a general wide area network (WAN) 152. Such networking environmentsare commonplace in offices, enterprise-wide computer networks,intranets, and the Internet. When used in a LAN networking environment,the computer 102 is connected to LAN 150 via network interface oradapter 154. When used in a WAN networking environment, the computertypically includes a modem 156 or other means for establishingcommunications over the WAN 152. The modem, which may be internal orexternal, may be connected to the system bus 108 via the user inputinterface 140 or other appropriate mechanism.

In a networked environment, program modules depicted relative to thepersonal computer 102, or portions thereof, may be stored in a remotememory storage device. By way of example, and not limitation, FIG. 5illustrates remote application programs 158 as residing on a memorydevice of remote computer 148. It will be appreciated that the networkconnections shown and described are exemplary and other means ofestablishing a communications link between the computers may be used.

An implementation of an exemplary computer 102 may be stored on ortransmitted across some form of computer readable media. Computerreadable media can be any available media that can be accessed by acomputer. By way of example, and not limitation, computer readable mediamay comprise “computer storage media” and “communications media.”

“Computer storage media” include volatile and non-volatile, removableand non-removable media implemented in any method or technology forstorage of information such as computer readable instructions, datastructures, program modules, or other data. Computer storage mediaincludes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or othermemory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or otheroptical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic diskstorage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which canbe used to store the desired information and which can be accessed by acomputer.

“Communication media” typically embodies computer readable instructions,data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated datasignal, such as carrier wave or other transport mechanism. Communicationmedia also includes any information delivery media.

The term “modulated data signal” means a signal that has one or more ofits characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encodeinformation in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation,communication media includes wired media such as a wired network ordirect-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF,infrared, and other wireless media. Combinations of any of the above arealso included within the scope of computer readable media.

It is apparent that there has been provided with this disclosure anapproach for management of enterprise systems and applications usingthree-dimensional visualization technology. While the disclosure hasbeen particularly shown and described in conjunction with a preferredembodiment thereof, it will be appreciated that variations andmodifications will occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, it isto be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all suchmodifications and changes as fall within the true spirit of theinvention.

1. A method for streaming visual representations from a plurality ofgeographically distributed enterprise datacenters in near-real time,comprising: receiving event data from the plurality of geographicallydistributed enterprise datacenters, wherein the event data isrepresentative of hardware and software elements that each datacenter ismanaging; transforming the event data from each of the plurality ofgeographically distributed enterprise datacenters into a visualrepresentation of the hardware and software elements that eachdatacenter is managing; and placing each visual representation into athree-dimensional space that provides a single operational visualizationof the geographically distributed enterprise.
 2. A method for streamingvisual representations from a plurality of geographically distributedenterprise datacenters in near-real time, comprising: receiving eventdata from the plurality of geographically distributed enterprisedatacenters; aggregating the event data into a composite datasetrepresentative of the current operation of the geographicallydistributed enterprise; comparing the composite dataset to at least onethree-dimensional model representative of the operation of thegeographically distributed enterprise; ascertaining differences betweenthe composite dataset and the at least one three-dimensional model,wherein the differences are indicative of potentially troublingoperation; and providing a visualization of both the composite data andany difference that may exist, wherein the visualization comprises athree-dimensional composite visual image of the current operation of thegeographically distributed enterprise.
 3. The method according to claim2, further comprising building the at least one three-dimensional modelfrom the received event data.
 4. The method according to claim 2,wherein the visualization contains a warning that is indicative ofpotentially troubling operation.
 5. The method according to claim 2,further comprising providing messages to the plurality of geographicallydistributed enterprise datacenters for controlling operation thereof. 6.A system for streaming visual representations of an enterprise innear-real time, comprising: a plurality of geographically distributedenterprise datacenters each configured to obtain event data fromhardware and software elements in the enterprise; and a virtual commandcenter configured to receive the event data, aggregate the event datainto a composite dataset representative of the current operation of theenterprise, compare the composite dataset to at least onethree-dimensional model representative of the operation of thegeographically distributed enterprise, and provide a visualization ofthe composite data and any difference that may exist, wherein thevisualization comprises a composite a three-dimensional visual image ofthe current operation of the geographically distributed enterprise. 7.The system according to claim 6, wherein the virtual command center isfurther configured to build the at least one three-dimensional modelfrom the received event data.
 8. The system according to claim 6,wherein the virtual command center is further configured to ascertaindifferences between the composite dataset and the at least onethree-dimensional model, wherein the differences are indicative ofpotentially troubling operation.
 9. The system according to claim 8,wherein the visualization contains a warning that is indicative of thepotentially troubling operation.
 10. A computer-readable medium storingcomputer instructions, which when executed, enables a computer system tostream visual representations from a plurality of geographicallydistributed enterprise datacenters in near-real time, the computerinstructions comprising: receiving event data from the plurality ofgeographically distributed enterprise datacenters; aggregating the eventdata into a composite dataset representative of the current operation ofthe geographically distributed enterprise; comparing the compositedataset to at least one three-dimensional model representative of theoperation of the geographically distributed enterprise; ascertainingdifferences between the composite dataset and the at least onethree-dimensional model, wherein the differences are indicative ofpotentially troubling operation; and providing a visualization of boththe composite data and any difference that may exist, wherein thevisualization comprises a three-dimensional composite visual image ofthe current operation of the geographically distributed enterprise. 11.The computer-readable medium according to claim 10, further comprisinginstructions for building the at least one three-dimensional model fromthe received event data.
 12. The computer-readable medium according toclaim 10, wherein the visualization contains a warning that isindicative of potentially troubling operation.
 13. A method fordeploying an enterprise visualization tool for use in a computer systemthat streams visual representations of an enterprise in near-real time,comprising: providing a computer infrastructure operable to: receiveevent data from the plurality of geographically distributed enterprisedatacenters; aggregate the event data into a composite datasetrepresentative of the current operation of the geographicallydistributed enterprise; compare the composite dataset to at least onethree-dimensional model representative of the operation of thegeographically distributed enterprise; ascertain differences between thecomposite dataset and the at least one three-dimensional model, whereinthe differences are indicative of potentially troubling operation; andprovide a visualization of both the composite data and any differencethat may exist, wherein the visualization comprises a three-dimensionalcomposite visual image of the current operation of the geographicallydistributed enterprise.